Westwoods

This is my daughter...The only reason she is black and white is because she edited this photo with a setting I don't even know how to run on my camera...but it looks artsy, like herself.   I have been so impressed with her style of decor in her own little room.  She has always put together colors in a unique way, I first noticed this when she started coloring at a very young age. Books are one of her passions and she is running out of room to store them. I love watching my daughters turn into their original selves.  Amen... I want to plop down in a cozy chair and read right there... Or write...that looks like fun too.     To my beautiful daughters, You will have days that aren't so fun; keep trying. You will have friends be unspeakably horrid to you; keep loving them. You will be unspeakably horrid to your friends; learn to say, "I am sorry." You will feel ugly some days; don't believe it. You might not be able to...

Our weekend started with a date...Which I wrote about earlier today but somehow between publishing and editing things went haywire.  It just wasn't meant to be I guess.  Summarizing now, I told two different things that happened to make our date turn out rather fine.  One happening involved licking honey from a spoon while I watched for spies. It was a bonding moment.  I have now lost the urge to write it down but it was a funny at the time.   The other happening was about a bad experience we witnessed between a mean old man and a sweet little waitress who deserved much better treatment and how we tried to help ease the pain of it.  The bonding that Bruce and I felt in that moment was happiness and joy complete. My husband continues to amaze me with his quiet ways of solving problems. And I tried to share with you the fact that on the weekend I bake and clean and light candles and play music and visit the library.  I wrote about our tradition...

One thing a new school year teaches is how wonderfully different we all are and how the perspective of little children is so desperately needed for themselves and for the adults.   Learning kids need to be able to share their views as they develop.  They learn at a very early age to either reject or accept oddities by vocalizing their opinions.  They learn to practise forbearance with each other when they are taught to respect each others points of view.   As do a dults, they also need the perspective of their co workers to thrive in the work place.   It was helpful to me this week, in dealing with a few wrinkles at work to hear the others' sides of the situation.  Their willingness to share their perspective made it possible to see that things aren't exactly as one person thinks they are.  They rarely are if we are  honest about it.  That's why it is important to hear what other people have to say about some of life's prob...

So, yesterday there was this nasty, beautiful wood pecker going to town on a pine tree stump in my yard.  He meant business. There was something in that tree that he was going to get.  I got mad just watching his ill manners, blazing a trail of shredded wood in one straight line, and the mess that fell to the ground...I may have to use a rake to clean it up... Anyway, it reminded me of me.  Last Saturday I was standing in my basement loading the washer and God spoke to me about my need/want for a smart phone.  The conflict is that Bruce and I have always stood firm on not entering the world of technology too fast.  We are bonded on not joining social media, although he laughs at me for being a blogger because..." isn't that social media?"   Anyway, he knows writing is my hobby so he's happy for me to do that...just not facebook and such.  And I agree with him, but now my basic phone with a qwerty keyboard is getting sticky keys from ...

Individualism or  Me-ism, Conformist or Nonconformist, should a Christ follower be any of these? Every now and then you meet a person who fits no mold.  They are the kind of people that will not follow the rules, who don't mind making waves, and also enjoy getting attention in a pretend humble, embarrassed way.  They claim praise and admiration make them uncomfortable.  They feel they have a higher calling than others to set the trends and make important changes in the world they live. The subject is too difficult for me to dissect...  I get it... this is how some of what I write makes people feel.  I have gathered that my thoughts sometimes come across as being too individualistic or that I think I am extra specially outfitted with unusual problems.  To be clear, I am perfectly aware that all of the battles I fight are the same ones you do. Let me just say this in my defense...I believe the best way to identify with people is to say things as ho...

I love the fall season more each year. It is such a celebration for all the abundance of summer. The colors of nature giving one last oomph and saying "hurrah"! A chance to sit back and re-evaluate the busyness of green and heat and then dry... In fall, we think cozy thoughts and plan coffee breaks with pumpkin-y flavors. We light candles and listen to classical music.  We read books in the basement of our hometown libraries...  We could molder there along with these old friends, for the love of books and leather chairs and imaginary worlds. On the way out of the library we stop on the sidewalk to say hello to another... Then stroll home across the bridge over the water where leaves fall and twirl on whirlpools as they lazily float away... A pot of chili and a pan of cornbread...  served in a chunky bowl gives warmth and comfort. Family altogether quiet in the early dark of the evenings, each one in a different book, different world, yet all here ...

As writers often do, I am now going to flip this discussion of  "What Church Should Be", and look at the very choice of words that make me cringe...loving the Church.  I'll admit it, the cringing is reactionary. I was churched in a setting that was not conducive to spiritual growth.  Any kind of real answers were found by my personal digging into the Scriptures.  The authority set up over me was not one I was taught to respect.  It was a sorry state of affairs if I am honest about it; strewn with church splits, politics, and what felt like hierarchy.  If you look up the definition of that particular word, that is exactly what it was. So imagine my surprise while dating my soon- to- be- husband, I found out about another way of thinking.  My astonished boyfriend was the first to bring to my awareness that most people respected and trusted their leadership.  That people did on a normal basis was news to me.  My lack of respect was a pretty ...